5,150 Shares in Morgan Stanley $MS Bought by Palacios Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Palacios Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley worth approximately $725,000, purchasing 5,150 shares in the 2nd quarter.
• Other top investors, like Vanguard Group and Goldman Sachs, significantly increased their holdings in Morgan Stanley, indicating strong institutional interest in the stock.
• Morgan Stanley reported a 12-month revenue growth of 11.8% and a notable quarterly earnings of $2.13 EPS, surpassing analysts' expectations.

Palacios Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 5,150 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $725,000. Morgan Stanley comprises approximately 0.6% of Palacios Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Matrix Trust Co grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 16,242 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,288,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.5% during the second quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 307,868 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $43,366,000 after purchasing an additional 15,968 shares during the period. Congress Park Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Congress Park Capital LLC now owns 3,250 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $458,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 63.7% during the second quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,395 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $619,000 after purchasing an additional 1,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 42.7% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 17,002 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,395,000 after purchasing an additional 5,090 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $160.42. 3,278,065 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,474,375. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $147.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $131.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $163.98. The company has a market capitalization of $256.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.33.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. Morgan Stanley's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 45.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total value of $1,693,440.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 186,420 shares in the company, valued at $26,307,590.40. The trade was a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total value of $6,141,499.02. Following the transaction, the insider owned 294,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $41,480,422.50. The trade was a 12.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $139.92.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments.